Just the Way You Is
by Terry Knowles
Summary: David convinces Maddie to let him take her "out on the town"


The elevator dinged on the 20th floor. The doors open and we see a woman's legs and feet walk out of the elevator, down the hall and round that all too familiar corner. The camera pans up as the door to the office of Blue Moon Investigations opens and Maddie Hayes walks in. "Good Morning, Miss DiPesto."  
  
"Good Morning, Miss Hayes," Agnes responded.   
  
"Are there any messages for me?"  
  
"Just one." Agnes handed her a folded slip of paper.   
  
Maddie thanked her, went into her office and sat down behind her desk. She unfolded the paper and smiled to herself as she recognized David's slanty handwriting.  
  
Hey Blondie, the note read  
I wasn't sure if I'd have a chance to get this in between arguments today so here it is: What say you and me go out tonight, paint the town red, blue, and whatever other colors you want. How about it?  
--D.  
Maddie smiled and folded the not back up. She pressed the intercom button on her phone.   
  
"Yes, Miss Hayes?" came Agnes' voice.  
  
"Agnes, will you please let me know when Mr. Addison gets in?"  
  
"Sure thing, Miss Hayes." Agnes sighed happily as she hung up the phone.  
  
"What is it?" asked Burt Viola.  
  
"Miss Hayes just asked me to buzz her when Mr. Addison gets in-just like she used to. Things are finally beginning to seem right again."  
  
"Just don't get your hopes up too high," warned Burt.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Don't you remember what happened all the other rimes things seemed on track? Miss Hayes ran to Chicago, Mr. Addison disappeared, the agency almost died, Miss Hayes came back married, and need I remind you of what happened at the baby shower?"  
  
"Herbert!" Agnes interrupted, and then lowered her voice to normal volume. "I get the point. We don't need to discuss what happened after that."  
  
The office door opened and David walked, or should I say danced, in singing, his jacket slung over his shoulder, collar unbuttoned, tie loose. "I might as well be the one...you know that only the good die young!" He finished the verse as he walked into his office, closing the door behind him. Not five seconds later, the door opened again. David walked across the office and knocked on Maddie's door.  
  
Maddie had been attempting to go over a case file, but anxiously awaiting the announcement of David's arrival. She was still unsure of how to respond to his message, considering how well their other dates had gone. The buzzer on her phone sounded at the same time there was a knock at the door, startling her out of her reverie. "Come in," she called as she picked up the phone.  
  
David popped his head in the door. "Hey, Goldilocks," Maddie held up a hand to stop him.  
  
"Yes, Miss DiPesto?"  
  
"Mr. Addison's here."  
  
Maddie looked up and gave a little laugh. "Thank you, Agnes," she said and hung up the phone.  
  
David walked over to Maddie and sat on the edge of her desk. "So can I take you out tonight, or what?"  
  
"David, I-  
  
He could hear the hesitancy in her voice. "Maddie, I know you're nervous-  
  
She continued talking at the same time. "Don't you remember the other dates we tried to have? The symphony-  
  
"So what if the other times it didn't go so well? You know what they say, the third time's-  
  
"the Laundromat? Maybe we're just putting too much pressure-  
  
"a charm. All right, maybe it's not the third time, what does it matter? Can't we just go out and-  
  
"on ourselves. Trying to convert you and me into us hasn't brought us much luck in the past..."  
  
"have a good time? We don't even have to call it a date if you don't want. Besides, didn't we agree to forget the past?" He looked at her hopefully.  
  
"Not a date?" she asked.  
  
"Not a date," David confirmed. "Just you and me out on the town."  
  
"All right," Maddie agreed reluctantly. How does he get away with charming me like this? She thought to herself. "So where is out on the town, anyway?"  
  
"You'll see," David replied with a smirk.  
  
"You're not going to tell me?"  
  
David got off the desk and began to walk toward the door. Before he got there, he stopped, turned around to face Maddie. "Dress nice, not too fancy, and I'll pick you up at 7:30." And he left.  
  
At 7:28, the doorbell rang. Maddie, wearing a powder blue dress with three quarter length sleeves and a loose flowing skirt that reached mid-calf, her hair down in loose waves (think first, second season), hurried down the stairs. After taking one last look in the mirror, she opened the door.  
  
David, dressed in a nice suit, leaned against the doorframe with a very David-like half-smile. At Maddie's surprise, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. "Ready?" he asked.  
  
"Mmm-hmm," she replied. "Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?"  
  
"You'll see when we get there."  
  
"There" was a dinner and dancing place. "Oh, David," Maddie breathed as she walked in. David smiled and led her to a table.  
  
A little while later, the Contours' "Do You Love Me" erupted. There were shrieks of joy and the sound of chairs scraping the floor as people scrambled up the get on the dance floor. David stood up and held his hand out to Maddie.  
  
She looked at him incredulously. "What?"  
  
He nodded toward the dance floor. "Come on."  
  
"This song?! David, I can't dance to this."  
  
"Sure you can, Maddie. I'll show you, come on. Let Dirty Dave show you how to dirty dance."  
  
"David..." she said hesitantly.  
  
He took her hand and brought her out to the dance floor. "Just loosen up a bit, feel the music. Move your hips." He showed her what he meant. Maddie was trying, but she looked, and felt, uncomfortable.  
  
The song ended, and the soft sounds of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" filled the air. "This is more my speed," said Maddie as she wrapped her arms around David.  
  
"Mine too," he whispered, breathing in the scent of her.  
  
At the end of the night, Maddie and David stood outside Maddie's front door. "David, I really had a wonderful time tonight."  
  
"I'm glad," he said huskily. They were silent for a moment. David cleared his throat. "Well," he said normally.  
  
"Well," Maddie said hesitantly. "Would you like to come in for a while?  
  
"I don't know," he said with a smirk. "My boss is pretty strict about me coming in to work on time."  
  
"I don't think you'll have a problem," Maddie said softly.  
  
We see Maddie and David sitting on her couch, talking and laughing. We can't hear what they're saying, but we can see that all guards are down. Time passes, and they fall asleep, Maddie's head comfortably resting on David's chest.  
  
David, still awake, let out a deep breath. He couldn't believe how right if felt to have Maddie in his arms. It had been a while since he had held her this way. It always surprised him when he realized, as he did now, just how much he loved this woman. Thinking she's asleep, he began pouring his heart out. "You know, Maddie, no one can aggravate or infuriate me the way you can. But I'll let you in on a little secret. I never let anyone else get to me like that. You know, the first day you walked into the office, I thought you were a cold, heartless bitch." He let out a small chuckle. "Boy, did you prove me wrong.  
  
"Tonight was pretty much perfect. A little bit me, a little bit you, a lot o' bit us." He moved one hand to stroke her hair. "I love you, Madolyn Hayes."  
  
Maddie, not quite as asleep as David thought, smiled. She kept silent, knowing she wasn't meant to have actually heard that speech.  
  
Billy Joel's "She's Always A Woman" plays, low behind David's speech, then gets louder as we see Maddie and David-the way they're supposed to be-in each other's arms.  
  



End file.
